Comparison of the effects of different lens-cleaning solutions on the protein profiles of human conjunctival cells

Abstract

Many contact lens wearers suffer from dry eye syndrome. Previous studies show significant changes in the protein composition of the tears depending on the lens-cleaning solution used. Therefore, the aim of this study was to detect the influence of different lens solutions on conjunctival cells, cells also involved in tear film composition. Conjunctival epithelium cells (HCjE; IOBA-NHC) were exposed to medium containing Complete® Multipurpose Solution Easy Rub® Formula (Complete) (AMO) or Opti-Free® Express Multipurpose Disinfecting Solution (Opti-Free) (Alcon) in different concentrations (0.1, 0.5, 1, 2.5%) for 12 and 24h. Apoptosis and necrosis using FACS and protein profiles of the cells using SELDI-TOF-MS and MALDI-TOF-MS were measured. Multivariate statistics were calculated to detect the most significant changes. Complex protein profiles were measured with SELDI-TOF-MS and MALDI-TOF-MS. Significant differences of protein profiles between control and treatment cells were detected after 12 and 24h, although cells incubated with Complete showed significantly fewer changes than cells incubated with Opti-Free, also showing concentration-dependent changes of some significantly changed proteins, e.g., protein at 6,736Da (p > 0.002). Cells incubated with Complete showed significantly less apoptosis or necrosis in comparison to control cells (p < 0.05), whereas cells incubated with Opti-Free showed significantly more (p < 0.05). We were able to demonstrate that Complete shows very little effect on the protein profiles of conjunctival cells in comparison to Opti-Free, where the cells showed very large protein profile changes, and apoptosis and necrosis of the cells was increased. These results are in concordance to clinical studies showing that the use of Complete solution made the tear film proteins similar to those of people not wearing contact lenses. Therefore, we believe that Complete is less aggressive and should provoke fewer side-effects, such as dry eye syndrome, for the users.